


Dance Into The Heart Of Me

by neverlandlumos



Category: The Hobbit (2012), The Hobbit (2012) RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-28
Updated: 2013-01-28
Packaged: 2017-11-27 06:14:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/658828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neverlandlumos/pseuds/neverlandlumos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean realises he can do things he never thought possible, and also realises Aidan is the one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dance Into The Heart Of Me

**Author's Note:**

> neverlandlost.tumblr.com

He felt incredibly nervous, the skittish feeling of butterflies in his stomach made him uncomfortable, palms sweating as Peter reviews the scenes for the second part of the film. Dean has read ahead, a habit of his, eyes lingering on a scene where Fili sings and dances a Dwarvish classic in way of entertaining guests.

His eyes meet Richard’s over the table, who bites his lip and they share a surprised and worried glance and Dean looks back to the review, noticing that the script also contains snippets of Thorin doing the same, though a lot younger. Peter waves his hands about as he explains the parallel between Thorin, a young heir at the time, and Fili, the current heir.

All eyes on the room are fixed on Dean, who lets out a nervous cough, but Peter offers him a smile and introduces both he and Richard to the dance and singing instructor, again. Dean hesitated with singing when it appeared in the first film - now he was expected to sing an entire piece alone?

He exchanges pleasantries, and so does Richard. Dean looks over to Aidan, across from him though several seats down, who smiles at him broadly, eyebrows raised. He looks back to Peter, jotting down the times he is expected for lessons and choreography, grateful the scene has been scheduled several wakes later.

He is a capable singer, though not a confident one, and a firm believer that singing is an innate talent, that really cannot be helped if you are a poor one. Dance is something he is not wary of, he can be taught and he can learn things quite easily. He has met the choreographer before, he is both friendly and patient. 

Peter moves on to the last snippet of the review regarding scenes with Bofur and Bilbo, Thorin and Thranduil. The scene contains more Thranduil and Thorin than the book, and Peter explains that the book did not entirely establish the disdain between races early enough, and needs to be in the second film to make sense to viewers. Lee nods, understandable, and states he will need to inform his publicist.

They are dismissed from the meeting, most actors are ready for bed, having also filmed that day. Aidan waits for Dean close to the exit, and throws an arm around his shoulder. Aidan reassures him that he will be fine, informs him he should be more proud of his abilities and successes. Dean merely explains that he can act, sure, can done some, but does not sing, and the entire scene, though weeks away, is already making him nervous. Aidan assures him he will nail it, flashes Dean an extraordinary smile and heads to his, which as become their trailer.

—

Peter, true to his word, sets up a singing workshop for him the following morning, and Dean thanks him gratefully. The other actors mill around the cafeteria, waiting for the dance workshop to begin after he and Richard’s singing lesson. Aidan gives him a comforting pat on the back, and kisses his cheek when no one is looking in their direction. 

Dean sticks his head into the tent, and finds his teacher, Lucy, is very nice and very understanding when he informs her he has no singing ability at all. She smiles, and tells him she’s heard it from actors many of times, and explains the more nervous he is, the more nervous his voice will sound. Dean shifts in his seat, gripping the the sheet of paper tightly.

Lucy sings the entire song to him, and Dean comically sags his head and rests it on the table in front of him. The song, unfortunately, for him is not any easy one with many dips in its pitch. He does notice, there is only roughly ten lines to the poem, and is repeated twice. Lucy laughs at his actions, reassures him again, and gestures for him to sing along with her.

Dean draws a breath and does as he is told, the words of the poem are easy enough, though the tone of the poem is still difficult. When they both fall silent, Lucy smacks him on his arm lightly, her face bright. He raises an eyebrow at her questioningly. She smiles and informs him, that with a couple of sessions, he’ll be more than able to sing the song by himself and will sound ‘fucking good.’ Dean hopes flattery is not a common trait in Lucy, as he does not want to royally fuck the entire second film of Tolkien’s legendarium.

After forty minutes of singing, learning and remembering the song off by heart, Lucy tells him to retire to his trailer and practise singing it to himself. He agrees and writes down the next lesson, that Thursday, giving him Tuesday and Wednesday to practise without her. He leaves the booth, and makes his way over to the dance workshop, meeting Richard and Aidan along the way. 

Although the other dwarves do not have a singular dance piece in the film, Peter takes advantage of the opportunity and films a separate scene for the third film. The crew make their way inside the hall, it’s space entirely cleared of any clutter, the floor blare expect chairs for them to sit on. Aidan rests a comforting and on his knee, quelling Dean’s nerves and Dean latches onto it gratefully. Out of the corner of his eye, he notices Lee resting his arm over the back of Richard’s chair, rubbing his shoulder, and smirks to himself when Richard appears more at ease.

Peter welcomes two dancers on to the floor, forcing a round of clapping, and the group silences when the music accompanying the song begins to play. The fair-haired dancer, Peter explains looking behind him and at Dean, is a representation of how Fili will appear in the film, and the second dancer, who is brunette, is the same to Richard.

The dancer does not sing, yet a male recording is added to the music, and Dean’s eyes nearly bulge out of his head when he sees the dance moves he is expected to perform. He whips his head to the side and at Richard who stares at the brown-haired dancer in disbelief before meeting his eyes, shocked and raises his eyebrows skeptically. 

They are extremely skilled, Dean will say that much. Peter explains that although they are acting as dwarves, that the members of the Durin line, when young, were the most graceful of their kind, and were considered feminine amongst their stout counterparts. Dean grabs onto Aidan’s bicep harshly as the dancers repeat the set, sighing deeply and nervously makes he way down to the floor with Richard who covers his eyes with his hands.

Dean looks behind himself, looking toward Aidan for reassurance, the younger man smiles at him and nods his head encouragingly. He is introduced to the dancer, Jay, who will also be teaching him the sequence. The group shifts around the hall, put into different groups to learn different dances. The other dancer, Michael, gives them both kind words and shows them the sequence again.

The choreography is something Dean would describe as almost contemporary dance, the body is required to contort almost unnaturally, and stretch in ways Dean would’ve thought the dance was Elvish, not Dwarvish. Luckily for Richard, he is not expected to dance for nearly as long, the camera focusses on Dean, or Fili for that matter, in the film for three minutes unlike Richard or Thorin’s one minute. The dance relies heavily on core-strength, as Dean has to lean back quite far, arms elegant and sharp, twisting forward quickly to the slow of the music.

They are led to different sides of the hall, supposedly not to distract each other, and Jay claps his hands together and explains he must time his movements to match that of the song. Dean nods in understanding and follows the beginnings of the sequence easily enough, without the music. Jay gives him a surprised face, but Dean laughs off his questions if he had a previous dancing career. Dean is no fool, he feels the strain of the genre of dance, his body entirely unused to the movements. In the quickest part of the routine, he is required to kick his leg out, at waist height and slowly bring it upward, so that his body bends to the side and his toes and leg are straight, to the roof. He manages it, somewhat, sweating easily at the strain.

When they are dismissed, Richard wanders over to him with a stunned expression. Dean returns it, arms spread in wonder, at how they are going to pull this off.

“I am getting too fucking old for this,” Richard states, cracking his back. “I’m going to paralyse myself at this rate.”

Dean laughs, though entirely in agreement. “Honestly, I’m more worried about the singing,” he says, waving at Aidan who gestures he’s going to the cafeteria. He notices Richard look around briefly, but they walk together, following Aidan. 

Richard arches a brow. “Do you dance? Can we swap?”

“Yeah, danced a bit when I was younger. Can’t sing for shit, though,” he replies, sitting down at Aidan’s table. Richard exhales deeply but claps him on the back and sits with Lee on the other side of the cafe. Once gone, Aidan reaches over the table with a huge smile, his eyes crinkling in the corners. “You looked amazing, babe! I didn’t know you could dance like that!” Aidan compliments, eating some potato.

Dean blushes, and smiles, “thanks, Aidan. Means a lot. It’s just the singing I’m really worried about. Lucy said I’m not bad but I have three minutes screen time with me singing alone. I don’t want to ruin the entire film.” He fidgets nervously, rubbing palms over his thighs as he chews.

Aidan assures him he will be fine, and grumbles about having to film a separate scene later that evening because Andy wasn’t pleased with the first take. Dean smiles, guilty, at his boyfriend’s bad luck, and promises to keep the bed warm for him upon his return. Aidan wipes his mouth carefully, careful not to rub any make up off, caresses his hand before taking off to re-shoot the scene.

Dean eats in peace, and checks his phone, responds to the messages he forgot he received and retires back to his/their trailer, humming the song under his breath like Lucy told him to. He undresses, extremely glad he does not need to visit the make up and prosthetics trailer this evening, and flings his clothes haphazardly over the bed. He sings to himself as he showers, rereading the lyrics, making sure he hasn’t gotten them wrong.

Upon dressing, he reads his e-mails and updates his website, before returning to signing the poem again. Dean begins to grow bored of it, however, once again grateful it’s only short and not song-length. He continues signing, crooning stupidly and changing the flow of the song, making it terribly off-key before returning to it’s original beat. He fetches some chocolate from the kitchen, unwrapping his weakness eagerly and turns and abruptly stops signing when he sees Aidan staring at him from the door.

“What?” He asks Aidan, confused. “It’s the song I have to learn.”

Aidan gawks at him, his eyes surprised. “What the hell! Why are you worried about the scene? God, you’re good at everything - I’m jealous,” he jokes, wrapping his arms around Dean’s shorter shoulders, kissing him forcefully. Dean responds in kind, placing his hands on Aidan’s hips, shuffling forward into Aidan’s embrace, turning his head as he deepens the kiss. Aidan rocks them gently as they kiss, Dean dipping his hands under the waistband of his trousers. 

When they pull apart, Dean leans forward and rests his head on Aidan’s shoulder, stress and tension slowly making its away out of his muscles as Aidan rubs his back and shoulders tenderly. “After hearing that, babe, you shouldn’t worry about anything,” Aidan compliments, and Dean whispers a thank you against Aidan’s neck before kissing it. 

“I mean it, Aid. Thank you. If it wasn’t for your support I probably would’ve wet myself or something equally embarrassing,” Dean says, caressing Aidan’s left cheekbone with his thumb. He is rewarded with a smile full of teeth.

He walks Aidan backwards until the back of his legs hit the edge of the bed, laughs when Aidan tumbles, and lays on top of him, curling slightly so he doesn’t crush any tender areas. He rests his head on Aidan’s chest, and closes his eyes, the thud-thud-thud of Aidan’s heartbeat forces him into a doze, and also forces most worry about his upcoming performances to be put to rest. At least, for today.

—

The day of shooting the dreaded scene snuck up on Dean. Although having attended all his lessons, sang and danced the same song and routine enough that the will probably cringe if he sees it again. He knows it all off by heart, but he still feels the fidgeting of his foot and the sweating of his palms as he sits in the makeup chair. Aidan comes in to wish him good luck, giving him an exaggerated kiss on the cheek and laughing as Katie has to reapply more make up.

Richard comes in as Aidan leaves and keeps him company while the finishing touches are completed to his hair and braids, as they are now styled differently that what they usually are. He notices the braids that sit on the sides have been removed, and only has the two that sit above his ears.

“I feel that maybe, possibly, I’m about to have a stroke,” Richard says, lips twisted in an attempt not to laugh, and fiddles with the beard attachment, that Thorin had when he was younger. Dean laughs too, and leaves the trailer alongside Richard, admiring the costume change for the first time in months. He is now wearing a single long-sleeved fleece shirt which is a deep shade of jade green, pants a slighter fit. He also notices that the prosthetics on his arms and legs are not as heavy, making him look more elegant.

Upon reaching the filming tent, he and Richard are separated to different sections, and Dean smiles at Jay and Lucy, who both clap him on the back and wish him good luck. He walks through the curtain and stands in his position on the mat, attempting to not pay attention to the camera nor the cameramen. He remembers Aidan’s words as he breathes in, finds that it calms him immediately, and begins the first line of the song when the music begins, twisting his body to the up string of the violin.

He breathes in deeply in the gap between lines, working his muscles into routine, arms wide as he bends his back into a taut bow, drawing in enough air to sing the next line, performing a loosely formed pirouette. The following line has a higher pitch, but also a heavier dance move, and contorts his body so that he can work both without losing his breath.

After several minutes that felt like hours, Peter yells ‘Cut!’, and Dean sags some, laying on the floor lamely, panting. He rises and walks over to where he and Andy are standing, and they smile at him, Andy reaching out and drawing him into a hug. “Fuck, Dean, that was great!” Peter says, another cameraman pats his back. Peter gives him a one-armed hug, and Dean’s heart swells with pride at Peter’s words. Peter peers down at the monitor, and tells Dean, “the routine was that good, we only need one take because we extended the song six times instead of three.” Peter flashes him a smile. “Oh! Just one more thing, just need a recording of the song as a cover.”

Dean nods and makes his way over to Lucy, who smiles at him and gives him a high-five. Richard, also finished with his routine, raises his eyebrows at Dean. “Thank the heavens above that’s over,” he says and Dean agrees smiling. They follow Lucy into a sound recording booth, sing the poem for the last time and leave quickly, eager for the scene to be over entirely. Aidan waits for him patiently, chatting with Lee, Adam and Graham, who congratulate Richard and Dean at the sheer difficulty of their scene. Richard praises Dean more so, explaining Dean has more screen time than him and therefore danced and sang longer.

They eat in the cafeteria, happily, Dean sagging against Aidan in relief. He gestures to Richard and Lee with a smile and tilt of the head and Aidan looks at the other men, his intense eyebrows forming an alarming frown. Lee lays a confident arm around Richard was it loosely, many would brush it off as resting it there out of comfort. Aidan chuckles and presses a quick kiss to Dean’s cheek.

“Seriously, could not have gotten through it without you, man,” Dean tells him, and Aidan smiles broadly at him, “thank you, so much. I love you.”

“I love you too, darlin’,” Aidan replies, “and hey, if supporting you made you sing and dance like that…” he trails off, but Dean gets the point. He pokes Aidan’s ribs playfully, “so,” he begins and Aidan looks at him with a suspicious face. “What’s your secret talents?” Aidan laughs and kisses him on the lips when no one is looking, drawing away and talking about the scene he and the others were involved in. 

Peter interrupts their conversation, offering to show Dean the performance on a hand-held camera viewer, giving him a rough idea of how the scene will play out. Fili is on a lengthly strip of marble, similar to that of a stage, the company scattered about each side, including Thorin, and Dean notices they are in the company of both Men and Elves, and other unknown Dwarves. He smiles nervously at his own signing voice, and is eased when he hears the dwarves playing accompanied music. The dance moves are amplified, lit up beautifully, showing the un-human grace of the Durin line, and begins to see Peter’s earlier vision, when a younger Thorin dances the same routine, though he does not sing, the scene flickers between Fili and Thorin smoothly.

Dean smiles up at Peter, who peers down at him with pride, He gives Dean a wink and says, “well done, mate. It was truly brilliant. Real proud.” He gives them both a wave and walks over to Richard.

Dean feels his eyes well up with tears at Peter’s words, and hugs Aidan around his midsection, breathing his scent. Aidan chuckles and rubs his back. They walk back to their makeup trailer, ready to call it a day, having no final scene, only Ian, Richard, Lee and few other people do. Dean and Aidan say goodbye to the others as they leave, and Dean stops to give Richard praise, who thanks him and jokingly says he’s going to pray he hasn’t damaged his spine before bed.

—

Once the make up is off, Aidan takes Dean out for dinner to celebrate the successful day, and Dean cannot stop thanking Aidan for his help and support. Aidan reassures him he didn’t even need it, and tells him he is a natural at everything he does. Dean smiles at his words, but realises: sure, you can be good at everything and not know it, but it’s the people around you who give you the courage to realise it. It’s the people you love who give you the courage to find the strengths in yourself. In simpler terms, he smiles, he found _Aidan._

\- fin


End file.
